6th, 7th H1N1 Flu Deaths Confirmed in U.S., Vaccine Delayed for Months

A New York City middle school principal and a 44-year-old man from St. Louis County, Missouri have become the sixth and seventh confirmed deaths associated with the H1N1 “swine flu” while global health officials bracing for a growing pandemic say efforts to develop a vaccine to prevent further spread of the deadly sickness will be delayed for months.

Mitchell Wiener, an assistant principal at a Queens school, died Sunday after being sick for nearly a week, officials said. He is New York’s first confirmed death from the deadly strain of flu that has killed six other Americans and sickened tens of thousands nationwide. Three people have died from H1N1 in Texas, one in Missouri, one in Arizona, and one in Washington, officials said. New York officials also reportedly are investigating the recent death of a 16-month old baby which may be related to swine flu.

Meanwhile, five more New York City schools have been closed in an effort to slow the spread of H1N1 influenza among students. U.S. health officials have said the virus may spread faster in school settings because many children congregate in close contact and may not practice ideal hygiene, allowing the virus to pass quickly from student to student.

Vaccine Delayed

As new H1N1 cases pop up across the U.S. and the world, the World Health Organization said drug manufacturers likely will not start making a swine flu vaccine until the middle of July at the earliest. Officials had previously said that vaccine production could begin in June. Once production begins, it could take months to produce a vaccine and get it into circulation, officials said.

Companies charged with developing the vaccine and producing it have told officials that making the vaccine is proving more difficult than they expected. The H1N1 virus is a never-before-seen mix of human, swine, and avian flu strains, officials said.

U.S. Taking Wait-and-See Approach to Vaccine

While many industrialized nations including Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, and Switzerland have already placed orders for the vaccine once it is available, the United States has not. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that the U.S. feels a responsibility to allow poorer nations to receive antiviral drugs and any new vaccine.

The U.S. is still not sure how many vaccinations it would order, who would be first in line to receive the vaccinations, and other details, Sebelius said.

Since the outbreak of H1N1 influenza began in April 2009, 81 people have died from the disease, including 72 in Mexico, seven in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica, officials said. The United States has the most confirmed cases of the virus followed by Mexico and Canada.

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